Thank you for contacting NRDC regarding ocean acidification. To avert disaster, the first thing people need is more information to form a clearer understanding of the profound changes that are taking place.
That means building the global scientific network to monitor changes in the ocean's vital signs: pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen. The effort can start with a bare bones network in the most vulnerable sites like the Pacific Northwest of the U.S., the sub-Arctic, and the coral triangle. Carefully designed research at these sites will help local communities understand what is at risk and how best to mitigate the harm.
Scientists know that climate change has a long, built-in, lag time, which means it will keep getting worse for decades even as people reduce carbon emissions. But ocean acidification is different. Cutting carbon dioxide emissions will very quickly slow changes to ocean pH. That fact should give people some hope.
No one wants fishing communities and economies to see their way of life disappear. The faster people understand how ocean acidification poses a threat to that way of life, the better our chance of protecting it. To learn more about our efforts to mitigate ocean acidification, please see the links below:
Ocean Acidification: What is It, and Which Communities are at Risk?
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/lsuatoni/ocean_acidification_what_is_it.html
XPRIZE Spurs Innovators to Tackle Climate Change's Evil Twin: Ocean Acidification http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/fbeinecke/xprize_spurs_innovators_to_tac.html
What is NRDC doing?
http://www.nrdc.org/oceans/acidification/what-nrdc-is-doing.asp
Thank you again for contacting NRDC and for your support.
Sincerely,
Katie Maroney
NRDC Membership
That means building the global scientific network to monitor changes in the ocean's vital signs: pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen. The effort can start with a bare bones network in the most vulnerable sites like the Pacific Northwest of the U.S., the sub-Arctic, and the coral triangle. Carefully designed research at these sites will help local communities understand what is at risk and how best to mitigate the harm.
Scientists know that climate change has a long, built-in, lag time, which means it will keep getting worse for decades even as people reduce carbon emissions. But ocean acidification is different. Cutting carbon dioxide emissions will very quickly slow changes to ocean pH. That fact should give people some hope.
No one wants fishing communities and economies to see their way of life disappear. The faster people understand how ocean acidification poses a threat to that way of life, the better our chance of protecting it. To learn more about our efforts to mitigate ocean acidification, please see the links below:
Ocean Acidification: What is It, and Which Communities are at Risk?
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/lsuatoni/ocean_acidification_what_is_it.html
XPRIZE Spurs Innovators to Tackle Climate Change's Evil Twin: Ocean Acidification http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/fbeinecke/xprize_spurs_innovators_to_tac.html
What is NRDC doing?
http://www.nrdc.org/oceans/acidification/what-nrdc-is-doing.asp
Thank you again for contacting NRDC and for your support.
Sincerely,
Katie Maroney
NRDC Membership
While there may be a few local strategies including mitigation/
geoengineering, the single most important action regarding
ocean acidification and climate change is:
REDUCE CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS.
Ocean acidification and climate change are global problems.
The CO2 we emit in North America affects the Atlantic Ocean
on the other side of the world as much as say India's emission
affect the Pacific Ocean. However, all politics to reduce CO2
emissions are local. So whether your local government passes
new laws to reduce emissions or you ride a bike instead of
using a car to reduce emissions, anything you can do to
to reduce emissions will alleviate the effects of ocean
acidification and climate change.
There are some geoengineering ideas to absorb/sequester CO2
but it is very clear, on a global scale such efforts must
be gigantic because our global emissions are gigantic. At this
stage, the only viable solution to the problem in my view is:
REDUCE CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS.
BTW, your observation that many people do not care about the
ocean is a sad fact. Often, neither ocean acidification nor
climate change directly affects their daily life. And most
unfortunately, humans tend to react only when the catastrophe
is already happening and poses an imminent threat.
Anything you can do to inform about the ocean will help.
Cheers, Richard
geoengineering, the single most important action regarding
ocean acidification and climate change is:
REDUCE CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS.
Ocean acidification and climate change are global problems.
The CO2 we emit in North America affects the Atlantic Ocean
on the other side of the world as much as say India's emission
affect the Pacific Ocean. However, all politics to reduce CO2
emissions are local. So whether your local government passes
new laws to reduce emissions or you ride a bike instead of
using a car to reduce emissions, anything you can do to
to reduce emissions will alleviate the effects of ocean
acidification and climate change.
There are some geoengineering ideas to absorb/sequester CO2
but it is very clear, on a global scale such efforts must
be gigantic because our global emissions are gigantic. At this
stage, the only viable solution to the problem in my view is:
REDUCE CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS.
BTW, your observation that many people do not care about the
ocean is a sad fact. Often, neither ocean acidification nor
climate change directly affects their daily life. And most
unfortunately, humans tend to react only when the catastrophe
is already happening and poses an imminent threat.
Anything you can do to inform about the ocean will help.
Cheers, Richard